F/SF

The apocalypse of the Swords- in a manner of speaking.

Finding out that they are vulnerable to the Swords themselves, the gods take a hand in trying to reclaim them- but find the mortals wielding them a bit more than they can handle.

In this book Mark is finally revealed as the primary protagonist of the series- not just the paladin figure, but Luke Skywalker himself. We finally find the truth of the Emperor and his relationship with demons, and humans finally stop believing in the false gods created- we find later- in ARDNEH's Sword.

In between, Vulcan and Shieldbreaker go on a rampage, eliminating a number of the more problematic Swords and their bearers.

This is an exciting war story, and sudden shift in gears for the overall trilogy. ( )

The Third... brings at least one of the major themes to its conclusion, and Mark's character arc to a new plateau. It's not as much sheer fun as The Second... - it's a war novel, not a heist novel, and there's as much about army movements and stealthy raids as magic Swords and the machinations of the gods. But it's a broader and more exciting story than The First, and unlike that one it's tightly plotted.

If Saberhagen had left the series here I think it would not have been nearly as memorable as it was - it's not a bad trilogy, and the premise is great, but it is nowhere near fully developed. Thankfully, he took another six or eight books to play with the concepts, including a straight-up Sherlock Holmes pastiche that is my other favorite book ever from this series, and while they're not all perfect I'm looking forward to rereading them. ( )

This book really picks up the story, where book 2 was a bit of a detour. The game of swords is on, and Mark and Ben and other human heroes are making unexpected use of the swords. The uses and counter-uses of the various swords are what really makes this series fascinating. ( )